Notes and Editorial Reviews

Concert Band Essentials features soloists of the Canadian Brass with wind ensemble in a best-of collection from Pachebel to Dedrick, from Handel to Henderson.

Band Tradition
In past centuries virtually every North American city and small town had its own town band. It was natural for bands to become a feature of American public education, allowing millions of school children to experience the joy of wind band music and performance. The members of the Canadian Brass are inheritors of this band tradition, each having gotten his own start in school music programs. The Brass have of course retained their love of the wind band medium and under Chuck Daellenbach’s direction created a large repertoire of Wind Band music basedRead more on their best known brass compositions and arrangements. With the insightful help of the band division at Hal Leonard Music Publishing Corp. This CD is effectively a “best of” collection of great Canadian Brass music titles.

The Band
Canadian Brass gathered their friends and colleagues around them in the MacMillan Theatre of the University of Toronto to create this disc. Toronto is known for fine wind players and many of the participants performing alongside the brass are onetime students of Brass. In fact, the music was conducted by one of Daellenbach’s former students, Dr. Cameron Walter.

Repertoire
This wind band excursion carries on the Canadian Brass tradition of starting their concerts with Just a Closer Walk with Thee. Classical titles include Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, Handel’s Suite from Water Music, Pachelbel’s Canon, and a new significant contribution to the Wind Ensemble repertoire, Fantasies for Anna by Christopher Dedrick. Additionally two works at the very root of Canadian Brass style are heard, Bach’s Little Fugue in G minor and Gabrieli’s Canzona per sonare.

Every North American wind player shares the great indigenous jazz tradition, and celebrating this tradition are Luther Henderson’s six Dixieland masterpieces executed in the inimitable style of the Brass. Completing the sonic wind band picture are Rayburn Wright’s tribute to North American folk music Red, White & Brass and Ron Romm’s signature tune La Virgen de la Macarena.Read less